Article of Manufacture Providing Golf Tee Receptacles

ABSTRACT

A tee holder article of manufacture for holding golf tees provides one or more loops of material, each loop sized to hold a golf tee, mounted to a backing. The tee holder is attached to an item of apparel, such as a hat or visor, at an attachment portion of the backing.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application relates to, claims priority from and the benefit of co-pending U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/653,955, filed Apr. 20, 2012, entitled Hat Tee by the same applicants and incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to the sport of golf and more particularly to receptacles for holding golf tees.

BACKGROUND

Golf is a mentally intense sport that requires the player to maintain focus. In a game where any little distraction can throw off an entire round, the last thing a player wants to do is worry about finding their tees. Instead of fumbling around in their pockets, an article of the present disclosure allows a player to effortlessly set up their tee shot.

Tees are small stands that are embedded in the ground to support a golf ball to be struck by a golf club. Golfers often go through many tees during a round of the sport, because tees are often broken or mangled by the club as it strikes the ball, or the tee flies out the ground upon being struck by a club, never to be found. Therefore, golfers often carry many tees with them when they play, to replace broken or lost tees.

Extra tees are often kept loose, or sometimes in the plastic bag in which tees are often sold, in the player's golf bag. It can be bothersome to have to rummage around in a golf bag to pick out a tee. Sometimes loose extra tees are damaged from being stored loosely. Although products exist for storing tees safely, there remains an unmet need to provide a convenient and amusing article for storing and retrieving extra tees.

SUMMARY

Loops that are each sized to hold a golf tee and which serve as golf tee receptacles provide convenient access to extra tees. The loops may be manufactured from textile, leather or other hide, metal, plastic, rubber, synthetic or blend fabric, or other suitable material. Metal, plastic or other relatively hard substances for the tee receptacles are sheathed in a textile or hide covering in specific exemplary embodiments.

Means for attaching one or more loops to an item of apparel, such as a hat or visor, enhance the convenient access to the tees. Such attachment means, include without limitation, an elastic band having loops and the band fits around the exterior sideband of a hat or visor; an elastic band having loops and the band is sewn on to an item of apparel; one or more clips having loops and the clips attach to the item of apparel by gripping the apparel material between the prongs of the clips; and loops manufactured integrally with the item of apparel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric side view diagrammatic illustration of an article of manufacture of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the clip of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an isometric side view diagrammatic illustration of an item of apparel adorned with a clip of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an isometric side view of a clip of FIG. 3 holding tees.

FIG. 5 is an isometric side view of an alternative exemplary embodiment of an article of manufacture of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is an isometric side view of another alternative exemplary embodiment of an article of manufacture of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, clip 110 is formed by bending a surface upon itself to yield front prong 140 and contiguous back prong 145 separated by tapered gap 150. One or more loops 120,125 are mounted to front prong 140. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the outer surface of prong 140 provides backing 130 for loops 120,125.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the clip of FIG. 1. Gap 150 is shown to better advantage. The void of gap 150 is tapered, having a relatively narrow gap 152 at the top, and a wider gap 154 at the bottom. Tapered gap 150 is formed by bending a surface upon itself to form prongs 140,145.

FIG. 3 is an isometric side view diagrammatic illustration of an item of apparel adorned with a clip of FIG. 2. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the item of apparel is hat 210. Clip 110 is attached to the riser portion 215 of hat 210 by slipping edge 220 of hat 210 into the narrow gap 152 of clip 110, and inserting the riser portion 215 until it substantially fills gap 150. Prongs 140, 142 are held onto hat 210 by friction fit provided by narrow gap 152, while wider gap 152 accommodates edge 220.

FIG. 4 is an isometric side view of a clip of FIG. 3 holding tees. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, clip 110 holds tees 420,425 in a horizontal orientation.

FIG. 5 is an isometric side view of an alternative exemplary embodiment of an article of manufacture of the present disclosure. Band 510 provides a plurality of loops 520,525 which serve as receptacles for a plurality of tees 530,535. Band 510 is attached to hat 210 to provide easy access to tees 530,535. In the specific exemplary embodiment of FIG. 5, loops 520,525 are oriented to hold tees 530,535 vertically.

With specific alternative embodiments, band 510 is sewn on to hat 210, or mounted with a suitable fabric adhesive, to provide a unitary product or band 210 is attached by a selectively detachable means such as a hook and loop fastener or a fabric pin or such other suitable means, such that band 510 is attachable to whichever hat or other item of apparel the golfer desires to wear. Specific exemplary embodiments provide an elastic band 510, which advantageously does not restrict hat 210 from expanding if necessary to accommodate a particular golfers head.

FIG. 6 is an isometric side view of another alternative exemplary embodiment of an article of manufacture of the present disclosure. Band 630 is attached to visor 610 such that loops 640,645 are oriented to hold one or more tees 650,650 horizontally. Alternative exemplary embodiments of band 630 similar to those of band 510 are contemplated.

For the purposes of this disclosure, pertaining to specific exemplary embodiments, the portions of material of band 510 and loops 120,125, for example, between each loop are defined as “backing” in relation to which each loop tee receptacle is defined.

The use of a tee holder of the present disclosure provides advantages over the prior art including modularity, with which a user can select how many extra tees he or she wants to carry by attaching one or sets of loops to their apparel. A further advantage is convenience, provided by securing a plurality of tees in an easy to reach place. Another advantage is hands free transport of tees, to the extent that tees are carried external to a golf bag or tee container without having to be held in the hands. Yet another advantage is an amusing golf accessory that will prompt conversation among a user's fellow golfers.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the tee holder described herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An article of manufacture for holding golf tees, the article comprising: one or more loops of material, each loop sized to hold a golf tee, mounted to a backing; and an attachment portion of the backing to attach at least one of said loops to an item of apparel.
 2. The article of claim 1, wherein the means for attaching at least one of said loops to an item of apparel comprises an elastic band.
 3. The article of claim 1, wherein the means for attaching at least one of said loops to an item of apparel comprises a clip.
 4. The article of claim 1, wherein at least one of the loops is manufacture from textile.
 5. The article of claim 1, wherein at least one of the loops is manufactured from metal.
 6. The article of claim 5, wherein at least one of the metal loops is sheathed in textile.
 7. The article of claim 1, wherein at least one of the loops is manufactured from plastic.
 8. The article of claim 1, wherein at least one of the loops is manufactured from rubber.
 9. An article of manufacture for holding golf tees, the article comprising: a clip having a first prong and a second prong defining a tapered gap between the first and second prong; and one or more tee receptacles on the first prong.
 10. The article of claim 9, wherein the second prong is contiguous with the first prong.
 11. A method for carrying extra golf tees, the method comprising the steps of: providing one or more loops of material, each loop sized to hold a golf tee, mounted to a backing; and providing means for attaching at least one of said loops to an item of apparel.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein the wherein the means for attaching at least one of said loops to an item of apparel comprises a clip, the method further comprising the step of attaching the clip to the item of apparel. 